Wealth to Waste Current Affairs

The Union Government is going to roll out Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan (GOBAR-DHAN) scheme. It was first announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during his 2018-19 budget speech.

The scheme focuses on managing and converting cattle dung and solid waste in farms to useful compost, biogas and bio-CNG. It will also help in keeping the village clean while increasing income of farmers and cattle herders.

Significance of Scheme

The scheme will be hugely beneficial for country as India is home to highest cattle population in world (around 300 million in number) which produces around 3 million tonnes of dung. It will encourage farmers to consider dung and other waste not just as waste but as source of income.

The scheme will provide many benefits to rural people by keeping villages clean and sanitized, improving livestock health and increasing farm yields. Under it, biogas generation will help to increase self-reliance in energy utilized for cooking and lighting.

The scheme will augment income of farmers and cattle herders. It will create new opportunities for jobs linked to waste collection, transportation, biogas sales etc. It will also provide stable fuel supply in market for oil companies and accessible credit in market through government schemes and banks for entrepreneurs.

Under it, villagers will be mobilized to create self-help groups (SHGs) and creative societies that will help in clean energy and green jobs initiative.